England team to play Ireland at Twickenham
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England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his team to play Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 9th March.
There are three changes to the starting side that took on Scotland in round three, with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Alex Mitchell and George Martin all included. Elsewhere, a positional shift in the pack sees Ollie Chessum move from lock to blindside flanker.
Danny Care will win his 100th England cap if he takes the field, having first made his debut for England in 2008 against New Zealand at the age of 21. The evergreen scrum-half will become England’s sixth male Test centurion.
Care takes his spot on the bench alongside club team mates Marcus Smith - who returns to the side from injury - and Alex Dombrandt, this will be their first game of the tournament.
TEAM TO PLAY IRELAND
Starting
15. George Furbank
13. Henry Slade
12. Ollie Lawrence
11. Tommy Freeman
10. George Ford – vice captain
1. Ellis Genge – vice captain
2. Jamie George – captain
3. Dan Cole
4. Maro Itoje – vice captain
8. Ben Earl
Replacements
16. Theo Dan
17. Joe Marler
18. Will Stuart
20. Alex Dombrandt
21. Danny Care
22. Marcus Smith
23. Elliot Daly
BORTHWICK ON SELECTION
"As always, we’ve selected what we think is our strongest 23 to leave us best placed to win the game. Ireland are without doubt currently one of the best teams in the world, and we’ll have to be at our very best against them on Saturday. We’ve prepared well for what will be another classic Six Nations game at Twickenham.
"I’d like to pay special tribute to Danny Care who will win his 100th cap at Twickenham on Saturday. Danny has been a tremendous servant to English rugby and reaching this milestone is an incredible achievement. He’s a wonderful player and someone who always puts the team first. I’m sure Saturday will an emotional and memorable day for Danny and his family, and the team couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishment."
